The Spurs' best starting lineup has no room for Dylan Harper

With the San Antonio Spurs' offseason almost complete, attention now turns to a potential starting lineup shake-up involving Dylan Harper. Many expect Harper to start next season, but that would be a mistake by Coach Mitch Johnson.

Many Spurs fans question why Johnson didn't play Harper more last season. Especially in the NBA Finals, when he was clearly the third best player on the floor behind Victor Wembanyama and Jalen Brunson.

To Johnson credit, he did up Harper's minutes from the regular season, playing him four minutes more per game during the playoffs. As a result, there is clearly a way for him to increase Harper's minutes without compromising the starting lineup, which may actually be better without him.

The Spurs starting Dylan Harper next season would be a mistake

Last season, the Spurs were almost unbeatable from February 1st to the end of the regular season. The main difference was them swapping out Harrison Barnes in the starting five for Julian Champagnie.

His hot shooting, solid defense, and rebounding helped unlock San Antonio's best version of themselves. Not only that, but Champagnie held up surprisingly well in the playoffs, connecting on 39.6% of his 6.7 3-point attempts per game.

Not to be outdone, Devin Vassell shot a ridiculous 37.8% from three on 6.4 3-point attempts per game in the playoffs. Both players acquitted themselves nicely and proved to be vital parts of the starting lineup.

Thus, San Antonio going with a three-guard starting lineup including De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, and Harper would be a mistake.

Dylan Harper must embrace being a super sub for the Spurs

That trio rarely played together last season, though Johnson did experiment more with that guard lineup in the playoffs to close games. Putting those three players alongside Vassell and Wembanyama proved to be a potent closing lineup, but that shouldn't be the starting five.

Instead, they should continue with the Fox, Castle, Vassell, Champagnie, and Wembanyama lineup. That starting five had a plus 17.6 net rating in the regular season and was plus 22.4 in the playoffs.

In fact, it could be even better with Fox hopefully having a bounce-back season and perhaps playing more with the ball. Add in internal improvement from Castle and Wembanyama, and that already great lineup could be absolutely devastating.

Dylan Harper can do maximum damage off the bench

As for Harper, he could still play a huge role off the bench. In fact, Johnson can go with a three-guard rotation in which Fox, Castle, and Harper all play at least 30 minutes a game but with Harper still coming off the bench.

Giving Harper the keys to the second unit would be the best-case scenario for the Spurs. After all, per 36 minutes, he averaged an impressive 19.0 points, 3.6 assists, and 7.5 rebounds in the playoffs. Imagine that type of production over the course of a season without him having to go up against elite defenses every night.

He could be the Sixth Man of the Year and help propel the Spurs to a championship. Therefore, San Antonio should keep Harper coming off the bench for the time being, with them already having an elite starting five.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow